Prescription Medication and DUI Offenses in Marietta: What You Need to Know
There is no question that being charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Marietta, Georgia is stressful in any situation, but it can be especially confusing when the traffic stop involves medication that was legally prescribed to you by your doctor. Many drivers in Marietta who have been charged with DUI offenses do not realize that a driver can be arrested for DUI even if they followed their doctor’s instructions, took the proper dose, and never touched alcohol. If you are facing this type of charge, it is normal to feel overwhelmed and unsure of what comes next. To help drivers in Marietta who have been charged with DUI offenses better understand their rights, we discuss how prescription medication use factors into a Marietta DUI case, and where to get legal help here.
How Prescription Medication Factors Into a Marietta DUI Case
Georgia’s DUI laws allow Marietta police officers to arrest a driver if they believe the person is not driving safely due to alcohol, illegal drugs, or even lawfully prescribed medication. That means a medication you take for pain, anxiety, ADHD, sleep, or another medical condition can still lead to a DUI charge if the police officer thinks it affected your ability to drive safely. The issue in DUI cases involving lawfully prescribed drugs is not whether the medication is legal, but rather whether it impaired the driver. Some common prescription drugs can cause drowsiness, slowed reaction time, dizziness, or confusion. In addition, even medications that do not usually cause side effects can interact with other prescriptions, your metabolism, or something you ate, making you appear impaired.
In many prescription medication-related DUI cases, there is no alcohol involved and no illegal drugs found. Instead, the police officer may rely on observations during the traffic stop, such as delayed responses, difficulty balancing, bloodshot eyes, or slow speech. Blood or urine tests may also show the presence of prescription medication. However, it is important for Marietta drivers to know that simply having a medication in your system does not automatically mean you were impaired, and that is often the central issue in defending this type of DUI case in Marietta.
How a Marietta DUI Defense Lawyer Can Help You
Getting legal help is the best thing that you can do if you were charged with a DUI offense in Marietta, but you had only taken your lawfully prescribed medication. An experienced Marietta DUI defense lawyer can be extremely helpful when prescription medication is involved because these cases are often misunderstood. A Marietta DUI defense lawyer can review the details of your traffic stop, the police officer’s observations, and the laboratory results to determine whether the state has enough evidence to prove impairment. Many medications stay in your body long after their effects have worn off, and a lawyer can use medical information, expert testimony, or prescription records to show that you were not actually impaired. An experienced Marietta DUI defense lawyer can also challenge whether the officer followed proper procedures, whether field sobriety tests were conducted correctly, and whether the testing method used to detect medication was reliable. An experienced Marietta DUI defense lawyer can guide you through every step of the process so you do not have to face the criminal justice system alone.
Where to find legal help in Marietta
If you were charged with a DUI offense in Marietta and you need legal help, contact the experienced Marietta DUI defense lawyers at Arca Law. The experienced Marietta DUI defense lawyers at Arca Law are here to help Marietta drivers charged with DUI get justice in the cases against them. Contact Arca Law today and speak with a lawyer about your case now.
